Time Well Spent
by savedbyautumn
Summary: The aftermath of the Promised Day finds Edward and Anna wandering around the country and world in pursuit of theories that render equivalent exchange almost useless. It's exciting and tiresome work though moments in time where one is at peace makes it all worthwhile.


**I've been thinking about my OC, Anna, a lot recently and her story is currently being told in the fic 'Art of Science' which is something I need to update as well as tweak a little bit. I thought there'd be no harm in just writing a small series about Ed and Anna, post-Promised Day because they're just soft to me and I do love writing about them! Here, they're in the early twenties and have been moving around for a little while, finding alchemic theories and more. **

**I do hope to get the main story going soon enough but for now, it's just these guys being, well, soft!**

* * *

Edward knew from the moment they slept in the same bed that he would never tire waking up to Anna. There was something about the way she looked as she was peaceful here and blissfully unaware of what was happening beyond their bedroom. Her features were smoothed by sleep, lovely and gorgeous like she was when she was wide awake. His heart pulsed almost achingly in his chest and his arms yearned to reach out to pull her in. To have her nestled against him like she usually did when sleep came to claim them in the night.

The sun was rising outside their window and its rays sneaked past the small gap between the darkened curtains. They were going to have to wake up soon to catch the train if they wanted to keep on schedule. But Edward couldn't bring himself to shake Anna awake just yet so he decided to work on himself first. His lips brushed against her forehead in a soft kiss before sliding out of bed with a creak of his automail leg. He started packing up the small articles of clothing they had scattered throughout the room but abandoned that task when an idea popped into his head. It was always thinking alchemy and some of the ideas were good with a base for the foundation while others were only good in theory.

That was how it went.

It was here that Anna awakened and he was too busy involved in his potential theory when two arms looped around his neck. He gave a slight flinch in surprise though his writing never stopped as his pen continued to fly across the pages of his journal. But that surprise disappeared into comfort as he instantly recognised that warmth, leaned into it even while his mind was working. He struggled to not fall prey to plush lips that warmed the skin of his neck with delicate kisses. His will to stay concentrated dying as a soft cheek nuzzled against his own along with a gentle hum that urged him to close his eyes.

"Anna, you're distracting me." Edward finally caved, hoping to sound vaguely annoyed but it was more fond than anything else.

"I'm not," she mumbled against his cheek before yawning loudly. "I'm just receiving my morning cuddles which I have a right to since we got together." She nuzzled into him again and looked around his shoulder to peer down at the scribbled notes. "You got an idea?"

"A possible one," he replied and pecked the bolt of her jaw as she leaned in closer to read. "We're learning so much every day with our travels so it has opened a whole new avenue of thinking."

Anna smiled as she continued to read. "That's true and it's easier ever since Winry made us all realise that the whole equivalent exchange thing is pure nonsense." She pulled away from his space with a dramatic gasp and Edward rolled his eyes but turned around with a smile. "How would the Truth even feel about that?"

"The Truth is a formless prick who likes to play with people for amusement." Edward deadpanned and Anna laughed softly. "But I understand why everything happened as well as how the Truth operates and it is true. You can't take something without giving something in return though it didn't factor in the people who give without expecting to receive."

"As well as those who give back more than they truly have to," Anna added.

"Exactly so the whole equivalent exchange theory isn't the only one people follow." Edward stood up from his chair at the small desk and moved back into Anna's space. He was welcomed in with arms wrapped around his waist and a small smile, her head tilted up as she listened to him. "There's so much more out there, Anna. More than just one alchemic law, more than everything we ever thought of."

"Yeah." Anna agreed, her smile widened before she leaned in to rest her head upon his chest. "And we've got our whole lives to find and see all of what we can."

Edward held her close, burrowing his nose into a mess of silver strands that still smell faintly of the shampoo she used last night. It smelled of honey and almonds and he took a deep breath in because he could and because they were here and Anna was here and his and—

"We need to get ready." She mumbled into his chest and Edward didn't realise that time had passed by so quickly already. The ray of sun creeping through the gap of the window had brightened and the clock resting on the desk read that it was six in the morning.

Their train was departing at seven-thirty.

"Share a shower with me?" Edward suggested, innocently enough though he smiled when Anna chuckled, the sound muffled by his shirt. "It will be quick and we'd be—"

"Saving water, I know," she replied and pulled back from his embrace before walking towards the bathroom. Her shirt came off first which left Edward looking at a slender back which rippled with hidden strength. His gaze followed the pattern to the curve of her waist and the tempting flare of her hips—

They didn't have time for this.

Anna tugged off her shorts.

They had a train to catch.

She then lifted her hands to tie her hair into a high enough bun and Edward's tempted gaze moved to the long length of the back of her neck. The neck which he had marked and bitten and kissed and nuzzled.

Then she looked at him, blue eyes wide and seemingly innocent before she realised what he was thinking. Her bottom lip then conveniently found its home between her teeth and a lovely flush coated the light brown skin of her cheeks.

It was a miracle they didn't miss the train when their shower went on for longer than expected.

.

.

"It's nice and sunny here!" Anna exclaimed happily, already taking off her coat as they stepped off the train. "It's so much better than the weather in Central which is a nightmare as I recall Al telling me." She tucked her coat into the crook of her elbow and reached for Edward's as he took his off. He smiled his thanks before handling their suitcases and both of them made their way towards the entrance of the station. "He told me that he missed the south because it's nicer over there and Central is just pouring rain."

"Al enjoys the rain though," Edward said, manoeuvring quite well through the crowd of people. "But I think he just likes being able to feel things." There was nothing else to say but so much was left unsaid. But Anna knew it all, had experienced and lived through it so she understood what he meant by that. She wanted to reach out and pull him close, hold him tight because it still haunted him every day. What happened to him and Al and her that made them who they were now but left scars that would never properly heal. It affected all of them at different times but Edward carried a lot of guilt for the people he couldn't save.

Anna wanted to grasp his hand in hers and never let go.

Tell him it wasn't his fault.

They reached the entrance of the station and caught a cab fairly quickly to take them to their hotel. The ride was silent and neither of them bothered to say a word as they watched the city go by through open windows. Anna still said nothing but simply slid her hand down to rest in the small space between them in the backseat. She kept her eyes on the buildings that went by, took in the sights of the people with their dark hair and eyes and marvelled at everything new.

It was a while before Edward's hand found hers and held it tightly, his thumb brushing against the ring finger on her left hand. Anna thought nothing of that, more focused on the relieved happiness that bloomed in her heart and squeezed his hand to let him know she was there.

That she was always there.

.

.

.

Their hotel was on the beach with their room's view overlooking the ocean which sent its waves to wet the sand. It was small but the type of small that prompted a cosiness and made Anna went to curl up beneath the sheets with her sketchpad. The first thing she did was open the large windows and gazed out at the world below, people wandering on the beach while the sun was still high in the sky. It was calling out to her, tempting her to shed her dress for a simple shirt paired with shorts before strolling down to the sand, digging her toes into the warmth of it before breathing in the salty breeze from the sea.

It had been a long while since they truly relaxed and the rest of their day today was free from obligations until early tomorrow morning. She turned to look at Edward who was lying on the bed with his arms thrown across his face. His shoes were off and their suitcases had found their home in a corner near the door. His chest rose and fell with the gentleness of his breathing and Anna thought he had fallen asleep for a moment until he shifted. She smiled when Edward turned his head to the side to nuzzle into soft sheets before opening golden eyes, their sights landing on her.

Her smile softened as his own lips curled to mimic hers and Anna made her way to the bed to lie beside him. She slipped her shoes off before curling into Edward's beckoning embrace and they basked in each other's presence in silence for a moment or two. Then Anna pulled away just enough to look at him and her soft smile turned into a grin. Edward raised an eyebrow, curious to what was going through her mind and Anna spoke quickly before he put two and two together.

"Let's go to the beach," Anna said and immediately knew she was going to get the groan that fell from Edward's mouth. "It's good for us!" She exclaimed and laughed when Edward began his attempts of burrowing himself into the bed. "When was the last time we had a day off where we weren't tired and dead on our feet?"

"Two weeks ago," Edward answered promptly, his words muffled by the duvet. "When we went to Liore to visit Rose and see how she was doing." He then turned to face her, his ponytail a mess from his burrowing attempts. "I feel like we had loads of time off. Enough time to last two whole months."

"Ed." Anna deadpanned. "You can't be serious."

"I am." Edward retorted and let out a squawk when Anna pounced on him, armed with a pillow to hit him with enough strength to render him slightly disorientated. "Hey!"

"We need to go and relax!" Anna proclaimed with a decent whack to his head. "I love looking at alchemic theories as much as the next alchemist but I haven't sketched in weeks and Al's beginning to worry because I haven't sent him a weekly sketch in." She paused to calculate the last time she did that before her eyes widened. "Three weeks!"

"Then go to the beach!" Edward shouted back through chuckles as Anna went to whack him again. Before she could aim another at his face, he wrapped strong arms around her to pull her down on top of him. Anna went with a surprised yelp and the two bonked foreheads due to lack of time in avoiding the collision. They both hissed out in pain but those painful hisses turned to laughter that held a hint of a tired note.

"Going to the beach without you wouldn't be fun," Anna confessed quietly, and Edward sighed fondly before placing a kiss on the spot where their heads collided. "Besides, I worry about you and don't want you to be locked in this room, drowning yourself in notes." _And reliving past memories_, she added silently but Edward knew.

He always knew.

His arms held her closer as if he feared that she would vanish again. Like Truth would suddenly appear and rip away her memories but this time, taking the memories of him along with them. Battling Truth and being able to be almost fully whole again had been a triumphant feat on its own as well as getting Alphonse his body back. It shouldn't have been possible but Edward cracked the code to a puzzle that many before them couldn't even solve. But it wasn't something to tempt again and Edward had already lost enough, having to deal with the trauma and the nightmares that clawed you awake at night.

Anna coiled her arms around him as best as she could and held on, pressing a warming kiss on a collarbone exposed by loosened buttons.

Edward hummed at that and moved to sit both of them upon, Anna awkwardly leaning against him with her legs stretched outward. She didn't mind and waited patiently as Edward's eyes stared into hers before looking out the open windows. It was quiet then and all felt still as Anna continued to wait while her head rested against his stomach. A moment passed followed by another and another until Edward broke the silence.

"If I get sand in my automail leg," he began, his lips twitching into a smile and Anna's own followed until they curved into a bright grin.

"It's inevitable," she told him because it was with all the joints and how tiny grains of sand were. "But I'll help you get them out even if it takes us a century and a half." Her head leapt the lovely sound of Edward's laughter, now care-free and void of any worry for the time being. He cupped her cheeks with warm hands and Anna leaned into the touch happily.

"More like a millennium." The words were whispered against her lips, playful and Anna smiled, melting into the loving kiss he gave.


End file.
